Burnley boss Sean Dyche less than impressed with Olympiakos pitch ahead of Europa League clash

Asked about the pitch, Dyche said: 'It's not great, but we knew that before we came'

Sean Dyche has described the surface on which Burnley are set to play their Europa League qualifying play-off first leg against Olympiakos as "not great" but insisted "we're not too worried about it".

Olympiakos were granted special dispensation by UEFA over the surface, but the Clarets trained at Panionios' Nea Smyrni Stadium rather than at the Giorgios Karaiskakis Stadium in order to give the latter as much protection as possible ahead of Thursday's game.

Asked about the pitch, Dyche said: "It's not great, but we knew that before we came. We were made aware that we'd have to train on an alternative surface which they provided, which is equally not that great I'd say, but useable.

"But it (Wednesday's session) was only to get the travel out of their legs. We'll have a light session in the morning, but obviously not here. This is certainly a pitch that will be interesting to see how it plays.

"It's not ideal, but to be fair I'm sure this club don't want it like that. We're not too worried about it. It's a challenge, but this whole competition will be a challenge."

Dyche was also asked comments made by Sam Allardyce on beIN Sports, where the former Everton manager said Burnley "haven't got the squad to cope" with playing in Europe as well as the Premier League.

Dyche said: "I've got great respect for people like Sam Allardyce and what he has done in the game and his years of service. I understand his train of thought, of course. I don't think it's anything negative about ourselves, I think it's just looking at the bigger picture.

Sean Dyche isn't too impressed with the surface (Getty)

"But we want to take on the challenge. We've made that clear. It's good for me as a manager who continues to learn, it's good for the group.

"The Premier League is an unforgiving one, we know that. There is a demand with this, more from the travelling and the slight time change.

"Squad depth - it's well documented we have some injuries and we were looking for more bodies in the market and that didn't happen. That's the way it goes. We believe in the group we've got and we take on the next challenge, which is tomorrow night."